On March 9, the Albright Institute hosted a development workshop called Foundations of International Relations Success Training, otherwise known as “FIRST.” The name fits well; this is the first time this type of training and opportunity has been offered at Wellesley, and appeals to students interested in the field of international relations, and the related careers of government, education, and the private sector. The organization partnered with the Institute, Bridging the Gap, helps promote the connection between scholarly research and public policy, and encourages current students to facilitate these ties early on. 

 Research and policy work are two important pillars that Bridging the Gap works to provide students opportunities in. Their goal is to encourage students to get experience within “public debate and decision making on global challenges and US foreign policy.” Bridging the Gap includes other initiatives that may interest students in the future, such as workshops for Ph.D. students in the New Era Foreign Policy Conference, a International Policy Summer Institute for professional development as professors and post-docs, and connection-building for professional workshops.

We conferred with Allison Liu ’26, an International Relations–Political Science major, about her experience with the workshop. She first heard about the event when the Political Science department sent out a mass email inviting their majors and minors to attend, encouraging “all undergraduate students with an interest in learning more about international relations to apply,” and filled out the form because it seemed “relevant to [her] major [and] future career interest.” Liu says that while the event appeared helpful, she didn’t have strong expectations for it. She even jokes that it didn’t seem like the best way to spend a Saturday morning; 8 a.m. start time in the Science Center didn’t particularly appeal to her. She said that she had “no idea if this was going to end up being a useful workshop,” and wondered if it was really going to enrich her learning experience in any particular way. 

However, Liu quickly developed a much more positive and engaged attitude toward the event. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed it, and she especially praised the way in which meaningful connections were facilitated by the organization. 

“I enjoyed the event, from the activities we did and the topics covered to the people I was able to interact with, not just the facilitators and panelists, but the other students there,” she said.

  There were also students from other schools in the area attending the workshop, which allowed Wellesley students to interact with new peers that shared similar interests. 

The workshop also provided a career panel, during which experienced leaders and Wellesley alums in international relations spoke with students and answered their questions about entering the field. Liu notes that they were able to talk about the best methods for getting a job in government, the strength of the alum network, and what the most important aspects of their time at Wellesley were. 

Liu said one of the most impactful aspects of the workshop were the real-world international relations simulations that Bridging the Gap specializes in, helping students get experience with real-world values while exploring the ever-evolving geopolitical environment. She describes it as an exercise that “really emphasized that scenario thinking is not predicting the future, but rather to imagine different possibilities or scenarios for the future and identify [their] indicators.” She says she wishes she had even more time to work through it, and that it made up a significant part of the event. That, along with the panelists and professor facilitators the students heard from, really made the experience worthwhile. She says that it was “one of [her] best ‘on a whim’ decisions [she’s] ever made,” and she really encourages future Wellesley students to take advantage of the program if it returns. 

Overall, Liu said that “FIRST” really helped her see a career in international relations as a possibility post-Wellesley, and learn about the wide range of opportunities related to her major. She also saw a new side to her classmates, and said the activities during the workshop gave her new insight into everyone’s unique interests. Liu gives the experience a positive review: “I had a great time, and the best part was meeting and connecting with other students that were there.”